Clean drinking water initiative with organic farming and waste up-cycling

May 4, 2016, 6:51 pm

In a bid to rapidly expand and create a palpable impact to the nation, the Hayleys Group’s – Puritas Sath Diyawara program has now extended its clean drinking water project with two more Reverse Osmosis plants. One plant installed in Neriyakulam is sponsored by Hayleys Advantis Limited and the second installed in Nelumwewais sponsored by Hayleys PLC. Hayleys installed its first Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant in Maithreepura, Padaviya, one of the villages worst affected by CKD. Since 2014, the Hayleys Group has installed 10 Reverse Osmosis (RO) water purification plants across four districts covering fourteen villages.

The village of Nelumwewa in Polonnaruwa, the heart of Sri Lanka’s paddy cultivation, is home to 1,442 people and 35 residents suffer from CKD.260 kilometres away is a small cluster of villages in Vavuniya called Neriyakulam, with a resident population of over 2,300. Two very contrasting backdrops, yet both face one common problem –lack of clean drinking water and a growing number of people suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Neriyakulam has an estimated 65 people suffering from CKD. Living in and out of refugee camps since 1977 has left most of them vulnerable to harsh conditions and lack of access to clean drinking water. Access to clean drinking water has proven to be the only known long term remedy for CKD, with the alternative being an organ transplant.

Commenting on the commitment to clean drinking water, the Chairman of the Hayleys Group, Mohan Pandithage said, "We have visited a massive number of villages in the North and North Central provinces, working at the ground level to identify the most severely affected villages. We have gone above and beyond what we originally set out to achieve, through the Puritas Sath Diyawara program by additionally supporting the communities with livelihood development opportunities. This time we have also introduced the inculcation of organic farming and effective waste management for livelihood generation. Our single minded objective is to see the lives of these villagers uplifted in a holistic manner."

To date Puritas Sath Diyawara has provided clean drinking water to over 21,500 men, women and children across fourteen villages in the North and North Central provinces since 2014. (Hayleys)